Financial well-being is when a person can meet current and ongoing financial obligations, feel secure in their financial future, and when they are able to make choices that allow them to enjoy life, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). People who are in control of their finances have enough savings to deal with unexpected financial shocks, and are on track to meet their long-term financial goals.
Unfortunately, many folks are not in this ideal financial situation. The CFPB’s study of Financial Well-Being in America found that on a scale of zero to 100, the average American’s financial well-being score is 54, and nearly one-third of American adults have a financial well-being score of only 50 or below, scores that are associated with struggling to make ends meet.

Effective money management behavior such as budgeting, paying bills on time, and saving for emergencies, can improve one’s financial situation and financial well-being. For those who’ve traditionally struggled with finances, DoubleNet Pay, a financial wellness Software as a Service (SaaS) company, makes that accessible.

Image via doublenetpay.com

Keith Soranno, vice president of sales, shared the company’s history and the automated services DoubleNet Pay provides to help consumers make strides towards financial freedom.

Inspired by Financial Best Practices

Launched in 2015 by co-founders Brian Cosgray, Cody Laird, and Bret Levy, DoubleNet Pay was inspired by the best practices for financial security.

“When people get paid on payday, that’s when they have the most money,” Soranno explained. “Brian wanted to help them get their obligations out of the way automatically—like saving, bills, and debt repayment—to give them a really clear picture of what they have left to spend without worry of forgetting a bill, missing a payment, and potentially overdrafting their account.”

Many of the consumers using DoubleNet Pay’s automated savings and bill-payment programs sign up via a financial institution or their employer who subscribes to the service and offers it as part of a benefit package. Individuals without such access can sign up on the company’s website.

Automatic Savings and Bill Payment

Soranno said the sign-up process is simple. “To get started, we’ll ask you to set a savings goal,” he explained. “You will then connect your everyday bank account where your paycheck is deposited. After you provide some basic information to us, we set up a special savings account for you at the Central Bank of Kansas City.”

Once your DoubleNet Pay account is created, the company will begin transferring funds from your bank account to your new special savings account on payday.

Image via doublenetpay.com

Bill payment services are also available. “We can automatically connect to over 7,500 different billers and pull the dates and amounts due,” Soranno continued. “Behind the scenes our special system aligns bills with the payroll period to make sure the bills get paid on time from the appropriate paycheck.”

Consumers can manage their DoubleNet Pay account through their desktop computer, mobile browser, or the company’s iOS or Android app.

No More Overdraft Fees, Late Fees or Payday Loans

The financial wellness benefits of DoubleNet Pay’s services are significant. “Your bills will be paid automatically on payday,” Soranno said. “That means you never have to worry about forgetting a bill that is due or not having enough money to cover that bill because you spent a little too much. That can help reduce things like overdraft and late fees which eat into your discretionary income.”

Automatic savings transfers make building up an emergency fund easier as well. “We believe everyone should have emergency savings,” he said. “When those savings are created automatically with each paycheck, you won’t have to resort to high-interest credit cards, payday loans, or 401(k) loans to deal with financial hardships.”